Chiisaki Mono
by Aestivate
Summary: Harukas recent failures are overshadowed by the awful dreams that plague her and Satoshi of the Sea Temple, and moreover Manaphy, being in danger. Evil taunts the pair in their nightmares, which threatens to darken the world in its reign. Primarily AaMayL
1. Losses

Chiisaki Mono

**Chiisaki Mono**

* * *

by,

Aestivate

* * *

Summary: Haruka's recent failures are overshadowed by the awful dreams that plague her and Satoshi of the Sea Temple, and moreover Manaphy, being in danger. Evil and Shadow taunt the pair in their nightmares, and also threatens to darken the rest of the world in its reign…

Disclaimer: Pokémon and all related characters and themes of the franchise respectfully belong to Satoshi Tajiri and all related companies in charge of distribution of the manga, anime, game, and merchandise. The title of the fic translates to "Small Things," which is also the ending theme of Pokémon: The Wising Star of Seven Nights. The song "Chiisaki Mono" is property (and mastery) of the very talented Asuca Hayashi_._

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter serves as a sort of get-things-together chapter, and I swear the action will pick up. And I have a nasty habit of not finishing fics that I start, but this one has been in the development process for a while now, and the plot is pretty concrete as far as they go. Now all I have to do is get around to writing each individual part, which could be easier said than done. And I'm sorry for the pacing! The way the plot is, the beginning might be sluggish compared to when the plot really begins to move forward. There's so much I'd like to include in a summary that I cannot without giving too much or too little away.

As far as names/places used, I've recently watched **a lot** of Pokémon in the original Japanese, and **will** be using the original Japanese names of the characters, of their Pokémon, of items, of attack names, and of locations. Apologizes if this is a turn off, but here is a basic idea:

Ash – Satoshi

May – Haruka

Brock – Takeshi

Dawn – Hikari

Misty – Kasumi

Tracey – Kenji

Max – Masato

Zoey – Nozomi

Kenny – Kengo

Drew – Shuu

Solidad – Saori

Jessie – Musashi

James - Koujirou

… and Harley thankfully keeps his own name in the original and the dub. And please excuse the Japanese used in poor context; I must iterate that I am not Japanese and have very limited fluency.

For pairings, advanceshipping (satoharu, aamayl) of course will be the major pairing, with penguinshipping a solid secondary.

Although Kengo/Kenny does not appear too much in the Diamond/Pearl anime, I must say that I love his character. He gives me a sense of fierce loyalty that suits Hikari well, and I think the fact that (well, to me, anyway) he was in love with Hikari since their childhood makes him a very steadfast yet complicated character.

As far as time period, this is pre Sinnoh League Conference and just before the Sinnoh Grand Festival. This takes place **two** years after Diamond/Pearl's beginning, and I figured this league would take a lot longer since the anime pacing has been so slow (but not in a bad way! Character development 3).

Ages, assuming Kanto took 1 year, Orange Islands took ¼ year, Johto ¾ year, Hoenn 1 ½ year, Battle Frontier ½ year, Sinnoh 2 years:

Satoshi is **16. **Haruka is **14. **Shuu is **14.** Takeshi is **21.** Hikari/Kengo/Nozomi are **12/12/13** respectively. Musashi/Koujirou are both **25.** Kasumi is **18. **Kenji is **20.** Masato is **11.** Harley is probably in his late 20's, so I arbitrarily pick **27** for both his age and Saori's age.

Note: I'm probably not going to use all the characters, Saori and Harley and Shuu are pretty minor as far as characters go, but this is just to give a basic idea of names and ages and such.

And I'm now done with my rambling, on to a very poor beginning chapter!

--

_An ivory spear pierces the heavens, dazzling the sleepy desert region of Orre with its captivating, dazzling architectural design. Opening the front doors is like entering a fortress, and the inside is almost as exquisitely crafted as the outside. At the top of the magnificent Ragal Tower, suspended in mid-air, is the latest state-of-the-art colosseum, filled to the brim with spectators and their Pokémon itching to get into the battle stadium._

_It seems wondrous how just a few years ago this beauteous location was the source of unspeakable crime, born from the twisted mind of the evil syndicate, Shadow, determined to infect on the world the soulless Shadow Pokémon._

_--_

_These days, her dreams are becoming less and less abstract and more and more horrifying. The Prince's screams are becoming shriller and the wave's howls more pronounced. The sea is beckoning to her, a trill in its call. Her arms are out in front of her, facing the source of the melody. There is a strange ghastliness to her skin; it is pale, milky, and pearl-colored. Light from above dances on her hands, the only the thing she can see for miles other than a cool, rich blue. Suddenly all around her is black, and all in her are those anguished cries of "__**Tasukete…"**_

_--_

Haruka had never been truly fond of the picture on her Johto Contest Pass, as it made her face look pinched and her eyes look beady. Unfortunately, the monitors on every Contest Hall she stepped foot in the Johto region had to show that _god-awful_ picture. It had become a habit to keep her eyes on her Pokémon during her contest battles, and her mind not on trivial self-consciousness, but on methods to make her Pokémon look as beautiful as possible. But nervousness and unease seized her and would not let go, and Haruka found herself looking up every few seconds at the clock and therefore the disgusting picture, both of which were spelling her doom. "Shit, the timer!" she muttered. She threw one longing glance at the audience; Shuu looked so painfully stoic and disappointed and isolated compared to her own, old personal cheering squad…

She bit her lip in resolution. She could not will herself to think of her friends at the moment, and continued to shout commands to the ever-faithful Bursyamo until she heard the timer beep that signaled the beginning of the end.

"And it's overrr!" cried the cheerful as always MC. "And the winner of the Kogane City Pokémon contest, the last before the Johto Grand Festival, is challenger Harley-san from Kaina City!"

"Isn't it too bad, Kamo-chan?" Harley's gloating and gleeful remarks floated towards her and shot her with each piercing word. "It seems like I've finally beaten you at your own game. Too bad the Johto Region Grand Festival won't be seeing Harukamo-chan as one of its contenders...!"

Harley's voice got lost in the crowd, but another's took its place.

"Haruka, just what the hell…" came Shuu's voice. It was a wonder she could still hear him amid the commotion that came with Harley's victory. She did not face Shuu, shoulders shaking, already able to picture Shuu's face, red with anger at Haruka's broken promise and the shattered rivalry that came with it. "We were supposed to face each other at the Grand Festival! What was that?! How could you just give up?"

Haruka did not respond. Wordlessly, she recalled dear Bursyamo, and tried to walk away from chaos and noise. She paused a moment and met Shuu's stern gaze with a sad smile. "_Gomen ne_, Shuu. I don't know what happened back there. Good luck at the Grand Festival, and say 'hi' to Saori-san for me."

He deadpanned at her response, as he expected her respond devastatingly. Shuu dropped his gaze, feeling ashamed those words had come out of his mouth, but even more so because Haruka had accepted them.

She turned her heel once more, out of the Contest Hall doors into the white sunlight, which provided distraction enough so no one could see her tears.

--

Haruka sank into one of the plush sofas at the Pokémon center, wishing for the people around at the center to stop giving her odd looks, and that yes, she was the one who lost in the Pokémon contest just ago, and that indeed, it was a shame she was not moving onto the Grand Festival.

After a while she stopped acknowledging the sympathetic and the smug and started playing with the seams on her mini-dress. She wanted more than anything to just retire to her room at the center and maybe disappear beneath the sheets off the face of the planet possibly with a bowl of ramen and a box of tissues, anything to stop reminding her how ugly a word failure is. Fed up with feeling sorry for herself and with waiting, Haruka stood slowly, headed towards the counter.

"Ano…_ Shitsureshimashita_..." And judging from Haruka's luck, Nurse Joy was absent.

"_Ruuuhhh!" _responded a voice from under the counter. An aging Lucky, with a smile that said 'just a little longer,' patted Haruka's arm.

Getting the hint that she wasn't allowed to disappear off the face of planet just yet, Haruka gave a huge sigh and wandered towards the videophones. From her bag, a flash of temporarily blinding Monster Ball light directed itself towards the floor and Glacia materialized. The Ice-type purred in happiness at the sight of her trainer, who looked both exasperated and overjoyed at the same time. Glacia wove in and around Haruka's legs.

"Glacia, you shouldn't let yourself out of the Monster Ball like that," scolded Haruka gently, picking up her Pokémon and cradling it. "But now that you're out, I want to apologize. You won't be able to be in the next Grand Festival since I lost today." Glacia licked Haruka's arm, indicating forgiveness. Haruka smiled and sat down at a monitor, and rested her cheek on Glacia's soft-blue fur, turning her face away from the rest of the center. "I screwed up," she whispered, voice softer than fresh snow falling. "How do I face them?"

"_Glaaa,"_ purred Glacia. Haruka sighed once more. It wasn't as if she were expecting her Pokémon to respond.

Haruka looked up into the empty monitor, looking resolutely at her mirror image. She blinked several times, paying close attention to her usual sapphire-blue eyes, which appeared murkier and greyer despite the fact she was looking at her reflection through a video monitor. She wondered fleetingly whether it was possible to cry away the pigment.

Being in a strange region on her own with companions who could not do much more than say their own names or offer shoulders to sleep on could be very lonely. Despite the fact that she was cradling an Ice-type Pokémon in her arms, the chill that was slowly turning her body into stone was due to the absolution of being alone, and the absolution of her failure. She needed to talk to people that weren't faceless strangers; she needed to find comfort and sympathies in the friends that were the spirit her coordinating career was so lacking.

"That's it," Haruka murmured. "I'm calling Satoshi." She placed Glacia on the stool next to hers, who merely lifted a sleepy eye. Haruka's gloved hand was shaking as she dialed the directory for the Sinnoh region. _Just one more number…_

"Haruka-san!"

She dropped the phone in surprise, her heart leaping, and took a deep breath as the Lucky from before approached her with a tray with two Monster Balls in it. From her desk, Nurse Joy grinned. "Your Pokémon are fighting fit and their health is restored. I'm sorry I didn't bring them do you myself, but I'm tied up with much more work to do. If you need anything, just ask Lucky, who has been given the permission to attend to your every need tonight, you're the guest that is staying the night, since the usual guests are at hotels near the department store… There's a sale first thing tomorrow morning…" Nurse Joy acknowledged Haruka's uninterested glassy stare and the "mhmms" and "uh-huhs" and _"sou da nes"_ as a cue to be quiet and resume her work.

Nurse Joy disappeared into the treatment rooms and Lucky, who felt awkward in Haruka's brooding presence, thought it to be more tactful to stay out of sight until she was called upon. From her egg pouch she removed a service bell, set it on the monitor desk, and disappeared after Nurse Joy.

Now that Glacia seemed fast asleep from her perch, the heavy silence weighed down on Haruka once more. "I'm such an idiot," she hissed angrily to herself, removing her green bandana, scrunching it into a ball and exchanged it between her hands. "Traveling alone, what a joke. Chasing my rivals? What a sham. How ridiculous."

It seemed she was nothing without the support of her friends, who never failed to convert their steadfast love into reassurance and strength. She thought by separating herself from them that she could be independent of this dependence, but she was wrong. At the heart of her 14 years she was still the little 10 year-old girl that could do nothing for herself. And even though she attempted to be the mature one and find her own strength, she had not changed from the immature girl that had left home those impossibly many years ago. Even her brother Masato, at 11 years of age had grown into someone completely new.

_**I'm pathetic…**_

She tossed the bandana-ball a tad too high and it dropped to the ground and unraveled. She buried her face in her hands and angry tears spilled through her fingers. Her eyes slid closed, beaten.

* * *

_To be continued…_


	2. Chats

Chiisaki Mono

**Chiisaki Mono**

* * *

by,

Aestivate

* * *

Summary: Haruka's recent failures are overshadowed by the awful dreams that plague her and Satoshi of the Sea Temple, and moreover Manaphy, being in danger. Evil and Shadow taunt the pair in their nightmares, and also threatens to darken the rest of the world in its reign…

Disclaimer: Pokémon and all related characters and themes of the franchise respectfully belong to Satoshi Tajiri and all related companies in charge of distribution of the manga, anime, game, and merchandise. The title of the fic translates to "Small Things," which is also the ending theme of Pokémon: The Wising Star of Seven Nights. The song "Chiisaki Mono" is property (and mastery) of the very talented Asuca Hayashi_._

* * *

Author's Note: Ahh, the wordiness disease has gotten to me. I promise I'll proofread better; going back and rereading the last chapter seriously sent many warning flags. And I made several foolish spelling errors; see if you can spot them x. Please note updates probably aren't going to be this regular; I'm just on spring break at the moment.

And I'm just assuming Pokémon genders, but… I plead artistic license.

From Satoshi's lineup, Naetoru, Buizel, Mukkubird, and Pikachu are boys. Hikozaru and Gligar are girls.

From Hikari's lineup, Pocchama is a boy. Mimirol, Pachirisu, and Eteboth are girls.

From Haruka's lineup, only Gonbe/Kabigon is a boy (let's see if he evolves by next episode…), and Glacia, Kameil, Bashamo (how do you guys Romanize it? …) are girls. And assuming Agehunt/Eneko/Fushigidane come back in her lineup, they're girls too. And who knows what Pokémon from Johto will fill her region. We'll find out on tomorrow's episode. :3 Yes, I like keeping things as close to the original as possible.

From Takeshi's lineup, Guregguru and Pinpuku are girls, and Usokkie is a boy.

I also decided arbitrarily that the site of the Sinnoh Grand Festival should be in Sunyshore/Nagisa City. Just because.

And regarding attacks… I think I'd go mad if I had to put the Romaji for every single attack, so I'll write out the translation for most of them.

* * *

_He believes that the disappearing light can be compared to the life cycle of a candle flame: At the beginning there are a few flickers, which grow exponentially in number until there is nothing left. But there is something wrong this picture, for how can a candle burn underwater? Moreover, what is this feeling of dread?_

_The source of light and life that was once its staple is not coming from the Temple; the only currently accurate characterizations are 'death' and 'destruction'. Surrounding him, loud and personal enough that it is __**in**__ him is that mournful, pleading cry. Its desperation ices around his heart. Trepidation and apprehension become his reality. Claustrophobia despite the endless space enclosing him has long since set in._

_And he notices with a painful realization that she's sinking beside him. Her eyes are pinched closed. Her hair flows along with her, white and cold and dead. He thinks she is still beautiful, even with the color dulled away from her skin._

_And he is aware that he too is sinking; the two of them sinking farther and farther down. And he is guilty; he was supposed to protect her, and yet here they are in their descent to oblivion._

_And the airtight space crushes his lungs and blurs his vision; the farther down he goes with her, the more trapped and foreboding he feels…_

--

"Satoshi, SATOSHI, seriously wake up!" cried Hikari impatiently; she slapped his face with such rigor that she nearly impaled him on her impossibly long nails.

Satoshi's weary brown eyes fluttered open. "What a weird dream…" he said to absolutely nothing. The pain receptors on his cheek had not quite kicked in yet. "…OW!..." There you go. "What the hell," he muttered as his vision cleared and adjusted to Hikari's furious face. "It's too early," he mumbled, his words were even less coherent than they had been just a second ago.

"Fine, I'll just tell Haruka that you were too busy to wake up and talk to her…" chided Hikari. She gave her head a knowing little shake, and her beautiful blue hair cascaded down her back.

"She's here?!" he yelped, sitting up and throwing the covers of his blanket off. "Why? How?"

"Come see for yourself. If you must know, she's calling in from the Johto region. She asked to speak with you privately," Hikari acknowledged with a nod.

He followed her out of the dorms, trying to make himself look like he hadn't just five minutes ago been dreaming…

Satoshi stopped. His throat closed, and suddenly felt constricted, as if being strangled. He suddenly felt as if he was drowning; his brain felt waterlogged. Hikari's small talk was distant, as if many miles away. Anxiety, not oxygen, filled his chest and his vision was blurring.

Hikari turned around and looked at him quizzically when she could no longer hear his footsteps. "Your hair looks fine, jeez, what's gotten into you?" She then noticed his expression. "Are you alright?"

Satoshi snapped back into reality. After gulping down some air, he could feel the color returning to his cheeks. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." He smiled sheepishly. "_Honto ni daijoubu, daijoubu!" _he protested to her unconvinced face.

"It's when you say _'daijoubu, daijoubu'_ that I really know it's _'daijoubu janai,'_" said Hikari playfully.

"It's your catchphrase!"

"Exactly, and I know precisely how to counter it… By the way, the Pokémon are at the pool. Pikachu would have waited for you, but Pachirisu wanted Pikachu to teach her a trick. Pikachu is really good at being an '_onii-chan' _isn't he…"

They continued their idle banter until they reached Takeshi, who was trying his best to hold up their end of the conversation. "Ah… Very interesting," he said. He and Haruka had always been on good terms, yet his usual enthusiasm was very lackluster and awkward, as if he'd been holding up his end of the conversation for far too long. "Looks like Hikari woke up Satoshi. I'll let you two speak now." Takeshi rose up from the videophone stools, and was being magnetically pulled in Nurse Joy's direction. "Good morning Joooyyyyy-sannnn!"

Hikari and Satoshi winced as Guregguru let itself out of its ball and chased after Takeshi with its fingertips glowing with a poisonous purple light. "That Takeshi…" muttered Hikari. She went after him embarrassedly too, leaving Satoshi alone.

_I shouldn't leave her waiting too long,_ he thought. But he could not bring himself to sit down in front of the monitor. It would be far too surreal. He squeezed his eyes shut and maneuvered onto the stool, then opened his eyes slowly. Even through a monitor she was pretty; it was almost as if he were looking at a bright light. He tried to greet her, but he was flabbergasted.

"Is it really that painful to look at me, Satoshi?" said Haruka. A bemused expression was on her face, soft and angelic and lovely.

"Not at all," said Satoshi, his voice finally coming to him. He had always been comfortable with Haruka's presence, and had no idea what had come over him just now. "It's been a long time."

"Too long," she added.

They smiled at each other fondly, saying nothing. Memories were filling in the lack of speech. However, as Satoshi noticed somewhere in the back of his mind, Haruka's expression steadily got softer, almost melancholy.

She was the first to break the comfortable silence. "I heard from Hikari of your eighth Sinnoh badge. Congratulations! To think that the last time you participated in a real league competition I was there with you." She stopped abruptly, and they retreated back to tender reminisces of Hoenn, which seemed like forever and a day ago.

Silence again. Then:

"And how about you, Haruka? Did chasing your dreams work out the way you wanted it to?"

Once again Satoshi saw that fleeting melancholy look. "Oh, that's right! I heard Hikari qualified for the Sinnoh Grand Festival as well. She says her success is partly due to you coaching her and encouraging her. She also says you've become quite the coordinator. I think that's wonderful. You should show me some of your skills someday soon!"

"But how can I?" Satoshi deadpanned. "I mean… you're… so far away and everything." His stomach flopped.

She appeared to not have heard him, then laughed, making a 'don't worry' hand motion. "Hehe. That's where you're wrong."

His eyes widened in shock. "You're coming?! But how, why?"

Haruka winked. "Just something I forgot to tell you. I told Hikari that I'd come to Sinnoh to help her prepare for the Grand Festival."

"But what about yours? Don't you have a Grand Festival to prepare for as well?"

Again, she changed the subject. "By the way, where's Pikachu? I wanted to say 'hi.'"

"He's out with the other Pokémon," said Satoshi distractedly. "But seriously, how can you have time to come?"

"Do you not want me to come or something?" she accused.

"O-Of course not." He wanted the opposite, actually. "It's just… are you giving up?"

She looked stricken for about a fraction of a second. "N-no, how could you think such a thing? Of course I haven't given up; I just have time off is all. Anyway, my boat for Sinnoh leaves later today. I have to get packing. I'll see you when I get there, Satoshi and we can continue chatting then."

"S-sure."

_Click!_ went the monitor and Satoshi stared back at his puzzled reflection.

"_Haruka's coming." _He blinked twice and a light turned on, his face taking on a healthy glow. "Haruka's coming!"

--

From her perch, Haruka found it difficult to stand up. She had fallen asleep on the stool in front the video monitor the night before, and had woken up to Nurse Joy shaking her gently out of yet another strange dream. She'd dreamed something horrible, but thankfully it was so unclear and foggy that she was having trouble recalling it.

She was quite positive there had to be some kind of imprint on her butt. It didn't help at all that she had to call in for the Sinnoh boat schedules from that dreaded stool. Frankly, they did not have to be that disagreeable and that uncomfortable.

Her peripheral vision noticed a very apologetic Lucky waddling over with a breakfast tray. "For me?" Lucky nodded, passing her the tray which was topped with breakfast sandwiches and juice, and also put a bowl of Pokémon food in front of Glacia's serene form. As if on cue, the Ice-type lifted its head sleepily and began eating tidily.

On her third attempt, Haruka stood up successfully. "Failure must make me an old woman," she said to no one in particular. She proceeded to stretch her stiff body and straighten her dress.

"I didn't get to tell him after all," said Haruka sadly. "I got close, but…" she trailed off. "I don't think it's appropriate to tell someone that… you need them, I guess, over the phone." She shivered. "What an _awkward_ thing to say!"

--

"Hey, Takeshi… Do you ever get the impression Satoshi's really slow? I know he's not romantic, but this is pushing it a lot. Look how confused he looks, I doubt he has any idea he likes her at all," said Hikari, watching her joyful friend from afar.

"Of course," said Takeshi. "But then again, there is no guy as romantic or as sympathetic with women as I am…" His eye (but then who can ever tell?) was still on Nurse Joy, who was examining a little boy's Bipper (A/N: Bidooooofusss).

"Uh-huh, right," said Hikari, interest fading fast. "I think I'm going to go change out of my pajamas now." She headed back towards the living quarters and entered her room. It was dark and cozy. "The horrors of rooming with guys," she said in disgust, wrinkling her nose at Satoshi's undergarments that were packed into a shady little corner. She stood by the vanity, taking a comb through her hair, counting the strokes until the comb went through without tangling.

The room had a single window with a view of the pool. She went to close the blinds because she was about to change, but something outside caught her eye. A boy with a kind, round face and messy auburn hair was training his Pottaishi, and Hikari's own Pocchama was watching. She wrenched open the window, unable to contain her excitement. "_Kengo!"_

--

"Going shopping? At this hour?" asked Takeshi. He raised his eyebrows in skepticism. Satoshi usually didn't go shopping. He peered through the Pokémon center's large window to Hikari and Kengo, who were talking. They both sat at the edge of the pool soaking their feet, both looking rosy with the sunset. They both looked animated with talk of the Grand Festival looming ever so near.

"I have to get some supplies, and I want to go into the city and see if I can get any practice battles in," said Satoshi, lacing up his sneakers. In actuality, he was hoping for a chance encounter with…

"Sure, but can you pick some stuff up for me?" Takeshi gave Satoshi a shopping list.

Satoshi recalled Pikachu, who bounded towards him, and they took off.

The solar paneled roads made for strange jogging terrain. Slowing his pace, Satoshi said, "Sorry I haven't been paying much attention to you and the others lately, Pikachu. I've just been distracted."

"Pika!"

He stopped abruptly in front of a crowd. "What's this?" He and Pikachu pushed their way forward. At the center of the crowd was Nozomi, hard at work. "Nyarmar, secret power! Follow up with shadow claw!"

"Oi! Nozomi!" called Satoshi, waving.

"Pikachu!" greeted Pikachu, waving its tiny yellow hands.

"Ah, hello Satoshi!" said Nozomi, smiling warmly. Sunglasses that usually were perched on Nozomi's very orange hair fell and shattered. She sighed and picked them up, but did not look disappointed one bit. "Oh well. I needed to get a new pair anyway. Wow, I was concentrating so hard I didn't notice a crowd had gathered…"

"I wouldn't expect less from a Grand Festival contestant!" said Satoshi. "Hikari and Kengo are at the Pokémon center, if you want to see them. I wonder if we'll see Naoshi-san too…"

"I wouldn't put it past him," said Nozomi darkly. "I wouldn't even put it past him to win the entire damn thing. I still remember the Yosuga City Convention. The way Naoshi-san coordinates, it's like he's a Pokémon bard or something…" She wiped the sweat off her forehead, and suddenly noticed that Satoshi had lost interest. "Well. I see you're not listening anymore. I suppose I really will go to the Pokémon center. As I just got here, I have to register for the Grand Festival anyway…" She began walking towards the direction he'd just come.

Satoshi had spotted someone in the crowd that was watching Nozomi perform. He'd only gotten a fleeting glance, but the similarities were uncanny. She was wearing a green bandana with a white stripe at the base, she had short light-brown hair, she had the most sapphire of eyes, she was wearing a red mini-dress with a black color and a Monster Ball design, she had a green waist bag, and she was curvy and slight and serene. Other than just looks, however, she was someone he'd risked his life for before and would not hesitate to do again. She had that kind of effect on him.

So he chased after her image. "Haruka? Haruka!" She was walking away; she couldn't possibly hear him.

"Pika?" said Pikachu quizzically, following Satoshi.

He ran and he ran; if he could only catch up with her… And there on that road, a truck was speeding by…

"PIKA-PI!" yelled Pikachu in desperation. A woman on the sidewalk screamed.

The skidding and the beeping horn of the truck took him out of the trance. The truck driver jumped out of his rig and threw insults and curses while Satoshi just listened and apologized meekly. The truck driver drove off.

And curiously, behind him came Haruka's lightly amused voice: "Well, it looks like you've just seen a ghost."

* * *

_To be continued…_


	3. Different Kinds of Battles

Chiisaki Mono

**Chiisaki Mono**

* * *

by,

Aestivate

* * *

Summary: Haruka's recent failures are overshadowed by the awful dreams that plague her and Satoshi of the Sea Temple, and moreover Manaphy, being in danger. Evil and Shadow taunt the pair in their nightmares, and also threatens to darken the rest of the world in its reign…

Disclaimer: Pokémon and all related characters and themes of the franchise respectfully belong to Satoshi Tajiri and all related companies in charge of distribution of the manga, anime, game, and merchandise. The title of the fic translates to "Small Things," which is also the ending theme of Pokémon: The Wising Star of Seven Nights. The song "Chiisaki Mono" is property (and mastery) of the very talented Asuca Hayashi_._

* * *

Author's Note: I needed excuses to use Haruka's catchphrase, so I overloaded the chapter with Japanese.

Edit: I have decided that I will use the official trademark Romaji for Pokémon names, unless there are discrepancies with how the names are Romanized. In this case I will either Romanize the name myself, or use a better spelling using the English-language names of the Pokémon.

* * *

Time stopped for the sweetest millisecond. "Ha… Haruka…"

"Pika!" greeted Pikachu, climbing onto Haruka's shoulder.

"_Hisashiburi dane!"_ said Haruka lightly. "By the way, Satoshi, you shouldn't stand in the middle of the road like that…" She scolded, "_Chotto yabai kamo!"_

"_Mata atta-ne_," said a shocked Satoshi, wholly captivated by her timely presence. Mesmerized, he let her lead him off the street.

Haruka blinked. "Why are you being so polite?"

Satoshi was aware his mouth was slightly ajar. "Ah… Yeah. How was the boat ride here? You arrived here fast."

"When I called you this morning, I told you that my boat was leaving today. You should pay more attention. I should have arrived tomorrow morning, but at the docks I met a relative of Shuu's who told me he had to drop stuff off at the port here. And he has a speed boat. Isn't that lucky? The even luckier thing is that he recognized me just from stories that Shuu told him…"

For some reason, the mention of Shuu's name made a burning liquid rise in Satoshi's throat. Irritation he could not place was making him jumpy. He said nothing, merely listened to her speak, enchanted by the rise and fall of excitement in her voice. The pair began a light stroll with no aim or purpose.

"Where are Hikari and Takeshi?" said Haruka. Apparently she had just noticed that Satoshi was alone.

"They're back at the Pokémon Center. Kengo arrived this morning, so Hikari's been avoiding us. Don't expect to talk to her too much, because just before you came Nozomi arrived and told me she's headed towards the Center as well."

"I know who Nozomi is; she's Hikari's rival friend. She's a great coordinator. I competed against her in the Mikuri Cup. But who's Kengo?"

"He's Hikari's childhood friend. He always calls her 'Pikari' but she won't let us know why."

"What a cute nickname! Does he like her?"

"That's what Takeshi says, but I've never noticed anything…"

"Well, 'clueless Satoshi' wouldn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She walked a little ways ahead of him and spun around to face him, with a grin and a wink. "_Nandemonai kamo." _She walked backwards a few more steps and then said, "I'm hungry. Let's go eat. Just the two of us, for old time's sake." She grabbed his hand and broke into a brisk jog, Satoshi lagging behind her.

The blush creeping up his neck from her sudden gesture he attributed to the sudden exertion of energy. "…Sure. Do whatever you want."

"Pika pi, pi-pikachu!" said Pikachu approvingly, able to keep up with their pace.

"There's a cute little restaurant I saw by the main port before I bumped into you," said Haruka breathlessly.

They ran a few more blocks until their destination. They waited in line to be served. "Somehow this feels a little nostalgic," said Satoshi. "The first thing we did last time you came was go to a restaurant too."

Haruka made a face. "But this time we don't have to go through a bunch of tag battles and finding and beating Roketto Dan."

Satoshi laughed. "You mean you hope!"

"Pika-pika," agreed Pikachu.

"Hmph, don't jinx it!" protested Haruka.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, _okyaku-san,"_ came from a voice from behind. A tall, elderly, gentlemanly waiter with a kind smile greeted them with a bow. "Reservation name?"

"Haruka."

"Thank you, please step this way."

The waiter led them inside, to a side room. Satoshi hissed, "When did you make reservations? We get our own room? And isn't this going to be expensive?"

"When I passed by it, of course! And I lied when I said we didn't have to go through tag battles before we get to eat. It really is much closer to the last time I came, which is why I picked it," said Haruka mischievously. "And if you were paying attention to the sign in front of the restaurant, it says 'Any couple who wins a 2 vs. 2 tag battle gets a free meal!!' "

"So you planned this…"

"Maybe."

"Pika!"

"But we're not a cou-"

"They don't have to know that," Haruka interjected. She grabbed his arm and leaned close to his ear. "Just play pretend."

Satoshi froze momentarily at her touch, electric and static and radiating all at once. She was so close he could almost feel his lips on her ear. As she pulled away, he automatically took his hand and scratched behind his ear, which was growing warmer every second. "But…" he continued scratching his ear unconsciously… "I only have Pikachu with me! The other Pokémon were helping Hikari and are back at the Center."

"Pikachu-pi!" protested Pikachu. He jumped off Satoshi's shoulder. Standing upright, Pikachu tried to show off by flexing his arms. He meant something along the lines of "So you don't think I'm good enough?"

"Of course not, Pikachu, but if you get too tired or knocked out, you won't be able to enjoy dinner…" Since he and Pikachu had been together for the longest time, Satoshi knew how to pluck nerves.

"Pi… ka…" which meant "You must be right…"

"No problem," said Haruka, waving a lazy hand. "If you need to, you can use Kameil." She pressed a button on a ball on her belt. Kameil's Monster Ball expanded, and the turtle Pokémon materialized, did a contest-style flip and landed gracefully in a swooping bow. "Kameil, Satoshi has no Pokémon except Pikachu with him at the moment, so if he calls on you to battle, will you listen to him?"

"_Kame!" _purred Kameil. She went up to Pikachu and greeted him with a handshake.

"It's been a while, Kameil," said Satoshi fondly.

Kameil waved, and then went back to Pikachu, the two deeply locked in conversation.

He suddenly noticed a red bandana with a Monster Ball design around its neck like a scarf. "That bandana…"

Haruka noticed what he was asking about and cut in, "I would have given it to Manaphy, but it was too late, remember? At least my most prized water-type Pokémon should have it. Speaking of bandanas… Looks as if you're still unsure," said Haruka, removing the green bandana from off her head.

As soon as she did, the room froze.

--

_All they can hear is the flowing water. They try to listen harder but the sea no longer has any melody, and is silent._

_And even though the ocean seems dead, a small blue Pokémon rises from the depths, holding between what appear to be hands a familiar red bandana. It is infectiously happy, wanting to expand its love... "Kamo suki!"_

_But something goes wrong, and Manaphy is suspended in midair for a long, horrible moment. Its aquatic body turns black, as if poisoned; its eyes are first wide open in fright, but then they are lost; the bandana slips onto the water in tatters, letting the waves continue to wear it down._

--

"Pikapi? Pichuka?" inquired Pikachu, looking up at Satoshi's and Haruka's mute forms quizzically. Their mouths were both open in shock.

"Ma… Manaphy…" whispered Haruka, as the color began returning to her cheeks.

Satoshi tried to gulp down a lump in his throat. "You saw it too?"

She nodded fearfully, with sad eyes. "M-maybe we're just hungry. And it's late, so we're… tired too. And it's oddly warm in here, so our minds must be playing tricks on us… And it's probably because we just mentioned it… Because there's no way… Manaphy could ever look at me like that…" She hugged herself, suddenly cold, her body turning to stone. Fleetingly she recalled feeling like this due to loneliness, but he was here, Satoshi was here, full of encouragement free for the taking. And yet there was still a feeling of dread freezing her insides.

Satoshi said nothing, even though the familiar feeling of trepidation knotted his stomach like it had in the morning. He swallowed harder, taking a deep breath, hoping to return the world to normalcy. "You were saying?"

"Oh… right." She handed him the bandana, her hair sticking up at ends. "If we somehow lose, you can keep this and doom my hair to looking bad. Okay?"

"No matter what you do, I don't think you could ever look badly, Haruka," said Satoshi under his breath. He hadn't meant for her to hear and was glad she didn't. He said a little too loudly, "Fine with me!"

She smiled meekly, still reeling from that strange daydream. "We better win that tag battle then."

As if on cue, the doors opposite the ones they'd entered opened, revealing a set of twins, one of each. The girl and her brother both had the same blueberry eyes, the same dark hair, the same gangly build, and the same matching jumpsuits. They both looked like they were revolted, as if they only grudgingly stepped onto the battlefield. Behind them stood the gentlemanly waiter, holding a green flag and a red flag.

"Welcome to our humble restaurant… My name is Izumi," began the girl with more enthusiasm than she'd let on from her expression.

"Which our father owns and is the top chef… My name is Teruo," continued the boy.

Then both of them spoke, their voices vying together. "It is he who wants to reward his second most favorite thing in the world, love, his first most favorite thing, his cooking! But only to those whose love he deems as worthy! But it will not be an easy task… So we challenge you to a tag battle!"

"Just pretend," hissed Haruka. She forcibly grabbed his arm and smiled, laughing sheepishly. "Yes, we're ready! We'll prove to you how our… uh… our… love trumps an empty stomach!" She emphasized the word 'love' a little too bogusly, a little too loudly.

Satoshi, who'd never been in love before, thought that he did not have to pretend all that much. The act was coming far easier than his breaths were; his chest had felt strangely constricted once she'd grabbed his arm. He matched her cues and body language perfectly.

"Send out your Pokémon Haruka-san, Satoshi-san," said the butler.

"_Dewa," _said Haruka, the first to toss a Monster Ball. "_Ikea, Gonbe!"_

The Big Eater Pokémon spawned in a flash. "Gon gon!"

"Pikachu, I'm counting on you," said Satoshi.

"Pika!" Dropping to all fours, Pikachu's fur crackled as he set off to battle.

"Let's go, Karanakushi!" cried Izumi. The Western pink variety materialized looking poised and ready for battle.

"You heard her, Karanakushi!" said Teruo. His Eastern blue variety stepped up to its twin. "Please, attack first!"

"Then let's make quick work of this. Pikachu, volteccer!" commanded Satoshi.

Responding immediately, Pikachu began to run, charging its body with electricity. "Pikapikapikapikapikapikapika…"

"Gonbe, solarbeam!" Gonbe opened its mouth wide and began to store energy.

"Karanakushi, twin cascade ascent on Gonbe!" The twins hoped that the double attack on Gonbe would distract Pikachu. However…

"Too slow!" cried Satoshi, pumping his fist into the air.

Pikachu collided! "Pika… PIKACHU!" A mini explosion! And when the dust cleared, both Karanakushi were knocked out.

"Karanakushi and Karanakushi are unable to battle," said the kind old gentleman. He held up the green challenger flag. "The winners of this round are Satoshi-san and Haruka-san!"

"_Yatta kamo!" _said Haruka, leaping to the air happily. "If our battles are that quick, then we'll be eating in no time! _Sankyuu, _Gonbe!" With a flash, Gonbe returned to his respective ball.

"That's what you think, _onee-san_," said Teruo. "But my sister and I are just warming up."

"That's what we like to hear," said Satoshi, assuming a battle stance. Pikachu ran back towards Satoshi, recalling himself for the next round.

"Let's go, Nidoking!" said Izumi, and the menacing purple Poison-Pin Pokémon spawned. It towered over its fallen comrades, whom the twins then recalled.

"Nidoqueen, please win this for us!" said Teruo, and Nidoking's counterpart joined it.

"Kameil, you're up," said Satoshi.

"Kame kame!" Kameil went onto the battlefield.

"Satoshi… Fusion?" said Haruka, winking.

"Of course," said Satoshi. "Let's give it a whirl."

"Alright then." Haruka released a ball into the air. "Bursyamo, _onegai!_"

"Shamo sha!" As it materialized, Bursyamo spit fire onto the battlefield.

"Battle… start!"

Kameil caught Bursyamo's eyes, who nodded. Kameil launched herself towards Bursyamo in a spin, which Bursyamo caught on one of her powerful legs.

"Eh… But… I didn't say anything…" said Satoshi, watching the battle unfurl without having his commanded anything. The opposing party was equally confused.

Haruka turned towards him to explain. "It's an old contest combo," she winked. "Just watch. Kameil, spinning hydro pump! Bursyamo, swirl of fire!"

And within seconds, the battle was over.

"Eh… Wow. Never underestimate the power of '_Honou to Mizu no Fusion_…'" said Satoshi, dumbfounded at the spectacular show of power.

--

Dinner was a very candid affair. Satoshi and Haruka were absolutely famished after the battle, unable to do much more than stuff their faces when the food hit the table. They ate ravenously and well, at the expense of no time to really catch up.

"Let's take a walk," Haruka suggested after the meal had become a distant memory. And so they did.

They arrived at a park near the Center Satoshi had no memory of, even though he'd been in the area for at least a week. As they settled onto a bench, Satoshi became aware of his awkward body. He had felt so comfortable just ago battling alongside Haruka and then eating with her, but now that there was no circumstance in between, he was feeling very self-conscious. He would never reach a tall stature, but he suddenly wished he was at least a foot taller. Discreetly, he sat up a little straighter.

"Wow, it gets so dark in Sinnoh! The night skies in Hoenn and the Kanto-Johto island don't ever get as dark as this. They're always a dull blue after the day is over. It makes the stars so pretty!" said Haruka, beaming to the starlit sky above. "_Kirei kamo…"_

Satoshi nodded, but it was apparent he didn't mean the same thing. Like Haruka had pointed out, the night was cool and dark. Satoshi was glad for this; this way Haruka couldn't possibly notice the flushed color of his cheeks. "So… how's Masato?" Satoshi shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"He's grown up, you know. Last I spoke to him, he had three badges already!"

"He and that Ralts really had quite a bond," said Satoshi, unable to think of anything clever or witty to say.

Haruka apparently did not hear, and silence befell the pair.

After a while, she removed her bag from her waist and dug around inside. She took out a contest ribbon half, from impossibly long ago. "Hey, you know…"

"Mmmm?"

"Before the last time I visited Sinnoh for the Mikuri Cup, I used to think this ribbon possessed so much power. It was the sum of everything I'd worked for up to that point. But most of all, it kept me alive and sane because it held your encouragement." Haruka tore her gaze away from the ribbon and looked in Satoshi's eyes with such loving honesty that it made his stomach somersault and leap. Flattery made him blink rapidly.

"I see…" was all he could manage.

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. To his horror, tears, plain as day, began spilling out from the corners of her eyes. "But it's not the same thing. It's such a small thing. When I visited for the Mikuri Cup I realized… When I saw you, when I competed with you, the ribbon lost all of its magic. How could this thing compare to the real you?" She closed her palm over it, shielding it from view. She scrunched her knees up on the bench and put her head down, hugging her knees to her chest. "And these dreams aren't helping at all," she said, the sound muffled.

Feeling slightly mortified at her sudden mood swing, Satoshi awkwardly placed his arm around her soldiers, pulling her closer. "Haruka," he said softly, "What is it? What's happened?" He shut his eyes against the warm of her body.

They stayed like that for the longest moment, and Satoshi believed Haruka had fallen asleep. "If only you knew," she whispered.

--

_To be continued…_


	4. Explosions

**Chiisaki Mono**

* * *

by,

Aestivate

* * *

Author's Note: I like reviews. Send me more. I do NOT like this chapter one bit, but it sets me up for what I need to do within the next couple chapters. The real action begins soon, I promise!

* * *

"_Nobody said it would be easy,_

_Nobody said it would be so hard"_

_- Chris Martin, Coldplay_

* * *

_The night is cooler than it has been as of late. As her arms grow chilled, he makes his efforts to warm them. He's strong for both of them; he's saved a world more than once._

_When the nightmares become more real than reality, he tells the sea it cannot take her. He tells the waves that their tricks are not working, and that under his jurisdiction, they cannot take her away into the surrounding ocean. He will not let evil Shadows pass through her cheeks and darken the rich, lively color until there is nothing left at all._

_He will not let any of this happen._

_After all, he will go to extraordinary lengths to protect her._

--

In a tree in an obscure park somewhere, a trio made of two humans and one Pokémon was spying. Two of them, at least.

"What are they doing?" whined a voice belonging to a tall woman with an 'R' emblazoned on her busty chest. She was the only one without a pair of binoculars and looked positively bored to death. She was dramatically draped over a branch as if there was someone who empathized with her boredom enough to listen. "Well?" She snorted impatiently. Her nose was permanently stuck in a way that held disdain for people that received more attention than she did. Her blueberry eyes were restless, and the rich magenta pigment of her extremely voluminous hair was dimming. Her comrades beside her were unresponsive. "Oi, Kojirou, Nyarth!"

The only other human and the only Pokémon part of the trio were ignoring her. They held their binoculars stiffly to their faces, and did not acknowledge Musashi's presence at all. Their breathing was deep and even; it was apparent that they had fallen asleep on patrol.

A vein on her forehead was popping almost as quickly as her temper. "KOJIROU, NYARTH! WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Without further warning, she took both of their heads and proceeded to violently bang them together and shook the prone bodies diligently.

"Good morning to you too, Musashi," said Kojirou in a groggy voice. He removed, with difficulty, the binoculars stuck to his face, which revealed a red-welted mask.

"What the hell's up with you?!" said Nyarth irritably, rubbing a lump growing near the coveted golden charm on the center of his forehead. "I was having a dream that Sakaki-sama killed Persian!"

"Well boo-hoo," said Musashi sarcastically. "How do you suppose you'll ever impress Sakaki-sama if you can't even stay awake during watch?!"

"But in order to keep my skin young looking, I need as much sleep as possible!" protested Musashi, stroking her white cheek.

Nyarth blinked hard in concentration. "Nope," he said finally. "You still look old."

_Pop!_ "Sooooooooooonansuuuuuuuu!" agreed Sonans.

"_What _did you say?" said Musashi menacingly. She gritted her teeth and jutted her jaw forward, preparing to launch herself at Nyarth's throat.

Even if Nyarth had no combat skills whatsoever, he was still a cat and nimbly sprang up on the branch above him. With a yell, and her weight in overshot, Musashi lost her balance and noisily scrambled back on her respective branch. "Whew," she said in relief, hand over heart. It seemed it was too early to celebrate, because she toppled off with a resounding crash.

"Musashi, be quiet! Do you want them to hear you?" said Kojirou, nodding towards the _jari-_kids.

Very dazed, Musashi responded with, "Mmmf… Right, Kosanjii…"

"K-Kosanjii, you say?! Well, I've never been so insulted in my life!" Kosa- I mean, Kojirou, began to sniff and tear. "How could you, Musashi?"

She rose stiffly to her feet. "Sorry about that, Kojirou. I didn't mean it, I swear!"

"…Wow, Musashi's being nice!" observed Nyarth from his perch.

"AND HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER TIME?" Musashi removed her boot and hit Nyarth square in the face.

"_I…tte… tte… tte…" _The Scratch Cat Pokémon began a slow, downward descent. He hit the ground beside Musashi and remained there, facedown and motionless. Musashi retrieved her boot and put it back on.

"_Shizuka ni!"_ said Koijrou irritably, who, as the last one remaining in the tree, had returned to being look out. "You'll wake them up!"

"Eh? They're asleep? Why didn't you say anything?" said Musashi.

"Because… Well… If I'm too loud I'll wake them up!" said Kojirou sheepishly. "Aren't they cute, Musashi?"

"Koshirou, you're an idiot. They're supposed to be asleep in order for our plan to work!" Musashi gave a melodramatic sigh, tossing her hair in dramatization. "It pains me so to be the only intelligent and perfect member of this sorry gang…"

"Soooooonaannnnsuuu!" said Sonans approvingly, saluting.

"If you're so smart then get the balloon!" said Nyarth in a muffled voice. "Let's get Pikachu and go!"

"Fine, fine." Musashi pressed a button on a controller and a hot air balloon rose in the black sky above them. The trio embarked swiftly and as silently as possible as the balloon gained altitude.

Nyarth took out a controller of his own and pressed a button once the balloon was higher. "_Pikachu o getto da-nyaaaa!" _

--

"He's late," said Hikari. She tapped her foot impatiently, her arms folded against her chest.

"This is strange," replied Takeshi. He was sitting in a center chair looking contemplative. "It was still daylight when he left. This is troubling, really troubling. Satoshi only said he was going out into town to pick up a few things."

"We should go look for him," said Kengo. "What if something bad happened?"

Hikari began pacing, throwing up her arms in anger. "What the hell's his problem? The Grand Festival is so soon; he knows he shouldn't be worrying us at a time like this!"

"Calm down, Hikari," said Nozomi, who had been silent the entire time. She was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, contemplating. "If anything, I saw him last, while I was practicing."

"When was this?" asked Kengo.

"A couple hours of ago. It was still light out, even. He wasn't distracted or anything like you said when I spoke to him."

"Well he has been recently," said Hikari. "Haruka called this morning and told Satoshi she was coming to watch the Grand Festival and the League Conference."

"Haruka…?" said Nozomi. She remembered when she met Haruka, a young coordinator from Johto that had once traveled in Hoenn and Kanto with Satoshi, who defeated her in the semi-finals of the Mikuri Cup. "Did she say when?"

"Not to me," said Hikari.

"Nor me," said Takeshi.

Kengo, who did not know Haruka, tried his best to follow along.

"Well, it's not like the Johto Grand Festival is over yet… If Haruka was to come it wouldn't be until at least next week when the Sinnoh opening ceremonies begin... Wait… But…" Nozomi blinked. "How is that relevant to _Satoshi's_ whereabouts?"

Hikari shrugged. "I don't know. But he turns weird when it comes to her." She told Nozomi of her observations.

Nozomi said, "Well I can't say I'm surprised… It seemed like that when they were together back then… At any rate…"

Hikari nodded, complying. Looking past the meek little circle of friends, the forbidding night caught her eye. "We have to hurry and find the Satoshi-the-slow."

--

It happened quickly.

The bottom of the Nyarth balloon opened revealing two long mechanic arms. Even in the dark the metal shone, and they extended towards Pikachu, clasping like a pincer around his midriff.

The sudden cold metal and constricting pain caused Pikachu to cry out. "Pi.. Pikapi!"

Pikachu's cries stirred Satoshi. "What's wrong, Pikachu?"

"Pikapiiiiiiii!"

Satoshi woke with a start. He was acutely aware of his whereabouts; a park in the middle of town, rather than the bed at the Pokémon Center he was becoming rather fond of.

"PIKACHUUUU! CHUU!" yelled Pikachu, crackling with electricity.

His first instinct was to look up, and above him Pikachu was helpless against his restraints, trying in vain to shock himself out. "What the…" A Nyarth balloon. Of course. "_Roketto-dan_!"

"I hear the call of 'what the…' " sang Musashi, looking gleeful. She opened her mouth wider, in preparation for wasting time with the motto.

"Cut the crap!" yelled Satoshi, cutting her off. "Let Pikachu go!" He sprang to his feet, in the process quickly drawing away the arm that had been supporting Haruka just moments before.

"Aah… Ouch…" muttered Haruka sleepily as her support suddenly left her and she slumped sideways banging her head.

Satoshi bit his lip in embarrassment. It was good for him that his back was facing her so she could not see the bright pink color of his face. After all, he'd just been asleep with Haruka in his arms without realizing it. A peculiar sensation prickled on his arm, her touch lingering and radiating up his arm. "I-I'm sorry…" he stammered, his face hot.

"Satoshi, what are you doing?" demanded Haruka. She was on her feet too. In his span of awkwardness she'd already pulled out a Monster Ball. "Focus!"

"Oh, jari_-boy, _if you and your little girlfriend think that you can stop us this time, you're very sorely mistaken," said Musashi cruelly.

"That's right, _nya!_ Make one move and we'll make sure that even if you save Pikachu you won't really be saving him _nya!_ And here's a teaser!" Nyarth pressed yet another button on his remote. "Isn't this fun?"

"PIKAAAA!" Volts of electricity from the mechanical arms were being returned to Pikachu, who gave horrible yells until he fell silent, motionless.

"Heehee!" laughed Kojirou gleefully, bending over the balloon basket. "Looks like Pikachu's 100000Volts won't be bothering us today!" The Nyarth balloon began to grow smaller and smaller as it gained altitude.

Satoshi reached impulsively to his belt for Mukkubird's ball, but realized with a jolt that all of his Pokémon were back with Takeshi and Hikari. He broke into a sprint, but the balloon was disappearing. "PIKACHU!" yelled Satoshi with fierce determination. "Don't worry, there's no way I'll be letting them take you!"

Back on the basket, Kojirou was once again the one diligently attending to look-out duties. "It looks like _jari-_boy is out of luck. He's got no other Pokémon with him, from what I can see. _Jari-_boy is all of out of useable Pokémon. _Jari_-boy whited out!" He dropped his binoculars and giggled. "This is finally our break!"

"Let's celebrate with a drink!" suggested Musashi, a bottle of Premium Rice Sake in her hand.

Nyarth distributed cups, pausing only for a second as he heard the arms re-shock Pikachu again. "Not this time, Pikachu."

"It's too early to celebrate! I'm your opponent now!"

"Who's that?" said Kojirou distractedly, watching his share being poured out.

Musashi stopped pouring the sake, freezing. "Oh no…"

It took a split second for Nyarth to realize too. He froze as well. "…Oh _nya_…"

Kojirou didn't freeze. "What?" He stared longingly at the bottle. "Why did you stop?" He looked bewildered.

The pair that did know said together, "_Jari-girl."_

Enlightening passed through Kojirou's face. "…Ah…"

"_Fushigibana, leaf storm!"_

"…Shit."

"Damn that girl, why does she have to be back when it was finally our chance?!

--

Kengo, who had been running along a path near the docks stopped short when something caught his eye. "Pottaishi, do you see what I see?"

"Potta," said Kengo's partner nodding. "Potta potta."

A swirl of green light surrounding a furious fury of leaves exploded into the sky, shooting down a curious looking hot-air balloon in the shape of a Nyarth.

"_Roketto-dan…"_ muttered Kengo. His eyes widened. "It must be Satoshi!"

A shrill cry tore through the night, and many nocturnal Pokémon took to the skies, disturbed. _"SOOOOOONNAAAANSSUUUU!"_

--

The balloon crashed through the trees. The turbulence of the attack effectively provided enough leverage to free Pikachu from his confines. Pikachu was falling, effectively and thoroughly scorched by his own electric attacks. Around his midriff were red welts where the cuff had cut into his fur and skin.

"Fushigibana, get Pikachu!" cried Haruka, confidence shining through her commands.

The large reptilian Pokémon gave a "Bana," of compliance, extending her large, powerfully muscular vines to catch the limp form and return it gently to Satoshi.

The balloon crashed. Had Fushigibana not been quick enough, Pikachu would have been crushed underneath its weight.

"_Sankyuu_, Fushigibana…" said Satoshi, gathering Pikachu in his arms.

Fushigibana tilted her head, revealing the familiar and distinguishing heart-shaped markings that had not disappeared upon evolution, a symbol of the Pokémon's gentle and loving spirit. She turned her head and positioned herself for battle once more in quick resolve.

"_Roketto-dan_, you three will pay for what you've done to Pikachu!" said Haruka, once again her voice clear and strong.

On cue, the two humans emerged from the deflated balloon.

"We almost got away with Pikachu," said Musashi scathingly.

"We almost had sake!" said Kojirou.

Nyarth jumped up in between them. "Now, why do you have to make this hard?"

"_Jari-_girl, we blame you. If you hadn't meddled, we'd finally have Pikachu!" cried Musashi indignantly.

"Yeah, shut up," said Haruka readying herself for battle once more. "I'm going to kick your ass."

"Haruka…" said Satoshi, surprised at both her use of crude language and the sudden sureness that she was radiating.

"Hey, chill out, _jari-_girl…" said Kojirou sheepishly. "I'm sure Musashi didn't mean to be that mean…"

"What was that?!"

.

"…And just to lighten the mood, I think this is where we battle," said Kojirou, ignoring Musashi's temper best he could. "I guess I'll start? Masukippa it's up to you! _Bind!_"

"…"

"…"

"Not me, them!"

"Kojirou, stop screwing around!" shouted Musashi. "Just hold still! I know how we can win!" Her hand reached behind her back and she pulled something from the fallen basket behind her. "Now, brat, you've pissed me off enough. When we finally have Pikachu, you have to ruin it for us…" Two cylinders held together by a burning fuse... An explosive of many magnitudes, but also an excellent diversion…

"Hey, Musashi, isn't that a little dangerous?!"

"What's life without a little bit of risk _nya? _Tell next time, _jari_-kids!" shouted Nyarth gleefully. Nyarth danced along, aiming for a pivotal location in which the bomb could go off and Rocket Gang could run.

…But then he tripped. "Wagh!"

"NYARTH, YOU IDIOT!"

"Sooooonannnsuu!"

And the bomb went flying… towards Haruka.

"HARUKA, NO! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Satoshi leapt forward as fast as he could, but he was impeded by the fainted Pikachu in his arms.

"Bana!" With speed uncharacteristic of the her species, Fushigibana stepped in to protect her master, catching the brunt of the explosion head-on.

**KA-BOOM!**

The pipe bomb exploded. The sound reverberated in everyone's ears in deafening absolution.

Miraculously, when the dust cleared, Haruka, Satoshi, and Pikachu were fine.

With a thud, Fushigibana fell.

"Aha… Whoops…" said Nyarth sheepishly.

"Time for us to go!" Rocket Gang fled, but admittedly, they were certainly not the priority. Attention spent on them should be as minimal as possible.

"FUSHIGBANA! FUSHIGIBANA!"

"Haruka…!"

Haruka began to scream desperately. "Fushigibana, why?!" Her cries soon grew softer, more achingly as she ran to her Pokémon's side. She howled in despair when she saw Fushigibana's state.

Even in the dark vitality was rapidly decreasing, plainer than day. The flower on Fushigibana's massive back already seemed wilted. "Fushigibana… Why did you do that…" The Pokémon was breathing irregularly, moaning softly in pain.

"Bana…" said Fushigibana, weakly lifting a vine to pat Haruka's head.

Satoshi clenched his teeth and set Pikachu on a rock at a nearby tree, removing Super Potion from his bag and sprayed Pikachu liberally. With a wince, Pikachu opened his eyes.

"Pika…" struggled Pikachu, who was trying to sit up.

"Pikachu… Are you alright? Can you stand?"

"Chu," said Pikachu weakly. He still somehow found the strength to leap onto Satoshi's shoulder. He assumed that Rocket Gang was once again borne away into the sky and assumed that those shenanigans were over and he could go back to the Center and possibly take a very long nap. Then he saw Fushigibana's laboring form. "Pi…Ka… Pikakapika!"

Haruka had her arms around Fushigibana's neck, sobbing and apologizing, soaking herself in blood in the process. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… Oh Fushigibana… You're so brave; you're so good, thank you… Oh look what they did to you…"

As Satoshi grew closer he could see that this was not an ordinary injury. The entire top of the bulb-flower was severed, and there was blood everywhere. "Those bastards…" Pikachu leapt up with the Super Potion on Fushigibana's head to survey the damage.

Meanwhile, Haruka began to tremble and shook so badly that she fell to her knees. She tried hugging herself to keep in the warm, but like she realized after her loss against Harley, it is impossible to warm a body that has turned to stone. "I'm sorry, Fushigibana… I'm sorry I'm not strong enough, Manaphy…" She caught herself, shuddered. "Why did I…"

"_**Tasukete…"**_

Her thoughts were becoming clouded, more disjointed with the passing of each crucial second. "About Manaphy… why did I just…"She noticed Satoshi's concerned expression and then his embrace on her, but his face was getting decidedly hazy.

"Fushigibana will be fine… She's a strong Pokémon… Get a hold of yourself…" He was holding her firmly and being as reassuring as he could, but his voice was dissolving in her ears.

_**The Sea Temple…**_

_**Manaphy...**_

His frantic whispers were becoming more far away. "Haruka, what the hell happened to you? Haruka?! HARUKA!"

Before she lost consciousness completely, she was enveloped in the inexplicable sights and sounds of the crashing sea.

--

_Welcome back, ojou-sama, ou-sama._

_I'm glad to see you, really I am._

_But I'm afraid it's too late, even for you…_

* * *

_To be continued…_


	5. Waltz

Chiisaki Mono

**Chiisaki Mono**

* * *

by,

Aestivate

* * *

Author's Note: …Yeah. I disliked the last chapter so much that I really have to plug up some holes with this one (even though it really does help drive things along), and therefore this update comes within… a rather short amount of time. Maybe a rewrite is in order? Who knows. As much as I hated the last chapter, this one really came to life. I'm really excited for the plot to really get rolling; I hope I'm creating enough apprehension for the rest of you all as well. :D

And to those who misunderstand; the genders I picked for the Pokémon are for the ones currently on respective rosters in the anime. For this fic, however, I've decided on the following:

Haruka's team remains as is.

Hikari's team remains as is. I would like Mimirol to evolve so she can (finally) get over Pikachu, but who knows when and if that will happen.

Nozomi's team remains as is, except she now has a Neorant.

Kengo's team remains at status quo at the moment. I would like to introduce another partner for him, but I don't believe I'll be given the opportunity.

I've decided arbitrarily Takeshi gets the Urimoo because I like Takeshi and because I don't think that Urimoo's evolutions are quite 'cute' enough to be on Hikari's team, but his team otherwise remains unchanged. Gureggru doesn't need to evolve; she's badass as she is.

Satoshi's Naetle will remain unevolved, following the pattern of first grass starter evolving no times, second evolving once, and third evolving twice, etc. Hikozaru has evolved. I feel certain Pokémon ditch their personalities when they evolve, and also when they're near Togepi, who will undoubtedly steal their souls (anyone who gets this reference gets recognition in the next chapter), so Buizel will remain unevolved. Pikachu is Pikachu, and Gligar has evolved. And at the time of writing this, I too have forgotten Mukkubird, which is such a bland and boring Pokémon that I'll have evolve too just to give Satoshi's team a little bit more flavor. As much as I love Mukkubird (not) and think that Satoshi deserves a Riolu for being a user of _Hadou_ (aura), the episode(s) with Hajime and Riolu kind of really discouraged that viewpoint.

Please note that the Pokémon are not the focus of the story (…they will have their spotlight, but that will be much, much later).

My pacing sucks, as does my random streams of consciousness. Blame it on poor proofreading and a desire to get things rolling (I know I keep saying that but it doesn't seem to be happening). These minute details matter though. Honest.

* * *

"_We've been through this such a long, long time_

_Just tryin' to kill the pain."_

_- Axl Rose, Guns 'N' Roses_

* * *

_The distant voices are drawing ever closer. They want to penetrate every inch of her and will stop at nothing until they do. She puts out her hands in front of her like a shield but they just tear right through. So she opens her throat and begins to sing, trying to keep herself sane.  
_

_**It's trying to pull me it's trying to take me away it's calling me I can't help it I'm not strong enough I don't want to please don't let it pull me under please I want the air on my face please I want the sun in my eyes…**_

_**It's so warm and constricting and it's so hard to breathe and I know I failed I screwed up I can't do much more I can't go on.**_

_She gasps and chokes, like she's drowning, and no more song will surface. The other sounds are blending, fusing together until they lose all clarity, all purpose.  
_

_From the noise surfaces a strong one, which rings loud and clear: __**You can't tear me from your side after all we're in this together.**_

_--_

"_From what I gather, _Roketto-dan_ was about to use one of those smokescreen bombs because they screwed up at catching Pikachu (again) and didn't want their asses handed to them (again). From what Satoshi told you and because I can conclude that they're idiots, I guess they lit the wrong fuse to an actual bomb and Haruka got in the way of it, is that right Kengo?" Takeshi._

_There was silence; the person called Kengo must have nodded._

_  
"And Fushigibana got the full blast to protect Haruka," concluded Takeshi. "It's a good thing you found them when you did," he added._

_More silence; Kengo must have nodded again._

"Roketto-dan_… those bastards!"_

"_If you're any louder you might wake her! Why are we talking about this in here anyway?" admonished a familiar voice. Nozomi._

"_I doubt it, with the amount of sleeping medicine Joy-san gave her..." said an even familiar one. Hikari._

"_Anyway… As I was saying before Takeshi came in," Nozomi's voice dropped to a low whisper as she changed the subject. "It doesn't add up."_

"_What do you mean?" This time, it was a boyish voice she did not know; she concluded it had to belong to Kengo._

"_The Johto Grand Festival can't be over yet. The last contest was just a few days ago. Opening ceremonies begin today over there, in time for our Grand Festival…" Nozomi's voice trailed off._

"_I don't get it," said Kengo. "Why would Haruka-san be here in Sinnoh then? Unless it was possible she didn't make the cut…Hey, do you think that might be the reason?"_

"_No," said Hikari firmly._

"_There's no other explanation for it…" sighed Nozomi. "If that's the case, she's got bad timing. One devastation after the other."_

"_I refuse to believe that. Haruka is one of the strongest opponents I've ever met. You should know that too, Nozomi; she defeated you too. And when she visited last year, she already had three ribbons. How hard is it to get two in a year?"_

"_I seem to recall a certain Coordinator having a little bit of trouble finding her footing, right Pikari?" chided the boy. "Maybe she got cold feet?"_

"_No. Not Haruka. What an awful thing to say. I'll forgive you since you don't know her, but there's still no way."_

"_Well, she's not on the list for qualified finalists." This time Nozomi's voice came from far away. Then there was the sound of fingers tapping away on a keyboard. "Maybe I'm doing this wrong, but she's seriously not on here.How could such a powerful Coordinator like Haruka not qualify? It seems so strange…"_

"_That's why I'm telling you, she did qualify!" cried Hikari. But she sounded less sure of herself than she had a mere second ago._

_  
Kengo suggested, "Maybe she was distracted? Or was unlucky…?"_

"_I know her main rivals," said Takeshi, who had been keeping silent since the conversation shift. "The three of them are extremely formidable with more experience than she, and to top it off, beautiful Pokémon."_

"_Like I said, cold feet," protested Kengo._

"_Her three rivals motivate her to keep chasing her dreams. She wouldn't give up that easily. The three of you wouldn't understand since you are very good friends, but Saori-san, Shuu-kun, and Harley are the reasons why she works as hard as she does."_

"_Then…" began Hikari. "What happened?"_

"Saa dou kana…_"_

--

Swimming from the surface of sleep, Haruka's eyes fluttered open. She was in a very tiny room with a single window, dark walls, and an antique wooden paneled-floor. She was on a stiff, heavily-starched futon. Covering her was a tattered patterned quilt which had an exotic scent that almost made her want to shut her eyes and drift off. The scent fleetingly reminded her of Fushigibana's Sweet Scent that she loved so much.

_With a thud, Fushigibana fell._ Fushigibana. Where was she?

With a jolt, Haruka bolted upright. A cool damp cloth fell from her forehead, and then she was suddenly attacked by flashbacks to the previous night. Was it even last night? Her thoughts were so muddled. Sitting up so quickly made her feel light-headed; she tried blinking a few times to clear her vision. Her confusion and panic lessened a little bit as she noticed some familiar items around her: her backpack, her saddle purse, and her bandana were folded neatly on a flat stool. She was dressed in her pajamas. On the table were a glass thermometer, a bottle of spring water, and a packet of pills. Had she been sick?

As she turned her head to survey the corner, a blush colored her cheeks and a chill ran through her spine. In the little room's back corner was an unfamiliar boy sitting in a wooden chair. He was younger than she, probably 12, with a round face and unruly vivid auburn hair. He wore a pea-green long sleeve shirt underneath a lighter green T-shirt with a white stripe around the middle and on the sleeve and collar, with a pair of khaki pants. His arms were folded and his head was leaning against the wall; he appeared to be dozing. Embarrassedly, Haruka cleared her throat loudly.

This did enough to wake him. His eyes widened in shock, and he scrambled and stood up, trying to gain composure. He looked about as embarrassed as she felt, and finally managed to awkwardly say, "Ah… Haruka-san… You're awake…"

She nodded slowly, still trying to comprehend what she was doing here, where her Pokémon was, and why there had been a young boy standing vigil to her bedside. "Who are you and how do you know my name?"

He visibly relaxed, letting out all the air he'd been holding in and sat back down. He sprung up immediately again and knelt before her, holding out his hand in greeting. "It's nice to finally meet you, Haruka-san. I'm Kengo, from Futaba Town. I'm a childhood friend of Hikari's. Well… I guess you can call me her rival, because I'm a Coordinator too…" His voice trailed off, bringing with it an awkward silence. He continued, though uncomfortably, "Don't worry; you're at the Pokémon Center. Joy-san prepared a room for you; you were very ill last night, and Hikari and Nozomi were the ones who changed your clothes. They're being washed right now."

Haruka shook his hand, still feeling confused, having only a portion of her questions asked. Her alarm decreased significantly from the names of her comrades. "It's nice to meet you. And if you're a good friend of Hikari's, 'Haruka' is fine… By the way where is she?"

"Alright, Haruka, if you insist. She, Nozomi, and Takeshi are returning soon with lunch. Pikari asked me to stay here in case you woke up and had any questions…"

"Pikari?"

Kengo flushed. "J-just a nickname…"

"I see. So Takeshi's here too then… That must mean we're at the Nagisa City Pokémon Center… But where is Satoshi? More importantly, do you know what happened to my Fushigibana?"

Kengo's face went ashen. "I'm not sure I'm the right person to tell you…"

"What is it?! What happened to Fushigbana? Tell me! I don't care if I can't handle the truth, I want it anyway!" Hysteria flooded in Haruka's heart, and all of a sudden she felt dizzy and disoriented. In her ears the explosion resounded once more, and she could still see her beloved Pokémon fall in her peripheral vision.

"Relax, relax. You're still running a little bit of fever, I think. Any more stress will pull you over again." said Kengo. "About what I said earlier… What I said previously probably really didn't give the right kind of inflection…" He bit his lip, and turned his attention on bottle of water on the little table. "So I'll say what the story is anyway, hopefully to put you more at ease. Joy-san said Fushigibana will eventually be fine. Satoshi has been alternating between Fushigbana and you the entire night. I finally just convinced him to get some sleep."

"What do you mean by 'eventually'?"

Kengo directed his vision towards the window, as if ashamed to look at Haruka's face. "Fushigibana has sustained some very serious injuries. After a day or two more of treatment, she can be released, but she will not be allowed to battle or participate in contests until a great deal of recuperation."

"I see," said Haruka hollowly. Tears flooded her eyes, hot and stinging.

"Ah…! I didn't mean to make you cry… I'm sorry…"

"It's not as if Fushigibana will be participating in a contest anytime soon anyway…" She caught herself, but she realized she'd said too much.

Kengo looked away again, speaking softly. "Nozomi reasoned that you couldn't be participating in the Johto Grand Festival and be here at the same time, as it's obvious you can't be in two places at once. Pikari got pissed that we did not have enough faith in you, and so Pikari had to find out for yourself. She kind of peeked in your ribbon case. On our behalf, I'm sorry."

So the secret was out. Haruka, silent, looked down at her folded hands.

"_Tadaima! _I've got food with me!" said a cheerful voice. Into the room burst Hikari, her cerulean hair flowing in after her. She was wearing her usual black shirt over a white undershirt, a short pink skirt, pink boots, pink scarf, and white hat with a pink Monster Ball design. "Ah, Haruka, you're awake! Are you feeling better?" Without waiting for a response, she prepared herself to kick off her boots, but then noticed the solemn aura of the room and the red of Haruka's eyes. "Kengo, we leave you in here alone for twenty minutes and you've already made her upset! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"It's not like I said anything mean or anything! I was just telling her about what happened to her Pokémon…" protested Kengo.

"Sure," said Hikari skeptically.

Behind her came in Nozomi and Takeshi, who greeted Haruka and Kengo warmly, making the tiny room extremely crowded. "Good morning, guys," said Haruka. She tried to act as cheerfully and normally as possible, but just her greeting came off as hollow and acidic. "Thank you for taking care of me."

"Of course," replied Hikari distractedly, unconvinced, as she began to remove things from her shopping bags.

"Haruka…" began Kengo. "It's okay to be –"

She cut him off. "I'm fine, Kengo-kun. Honestly." To herself she sounded too abrupt; too cross.

He too was unconvinced, but he went over to help Hikari anyway.

"You look better than you did when Satoshi brought you in last night," observed Nozomi.

"Thanks? I think... I really don't remember what happened after… after… what happened."

"Stress," said Takeshi, not looking up from his station. He was busy organizing little dishes of food and sorting bowls and chopsticks. "Not making it to the Grand Festival after working so hard and a long boat ride and watching your Pokémon get gravely injured will do that to you…"

Haruka heard the words she'd said to Satoshi just the previous night: _If only you knew… _She felt irritation bubble within her stomach and spread.

"So Hikari told you too?" Once again her words were unfamiliar, higher-pitched than how she normally rendered them and a whole lot bitterer. "Did she tell the whole damned world too?"

Hikari dropped the spoon she'd been holding. It fell back into the dish she'd been preparing with a _clang! _Nozomi, Kengo, and Takeshi all winced, waiting for confrontation and for Hikari's temper to get the best of her. Hikari could hear their mental blips of "No, don't do it!" and "It's not worth arguing over!" and "You have an unfair advantage at this point!" being fired towards her.

Tension was overflowing and the trio held onto bated breath. But Hikari was much more sensible than her mannerisms were letting on. She took a deep breath and turned to face her friend. Her eyes were locked in resolve, yet they held pity. "Kengo was the one that found you two and was the one that spent half the night chasing down _Roketto-dan_. I don't know if you remember, but you were acting really hysterically. You were beyond delirious; and not just from fever I bet. You were crying like I've never seen anyone cry before." She paused. "Nothing, no one, not even Satoshi could quiet you. You eventually ended up repeating the words 'I failed' and 'I'm not strong enough' over and over again. So naturally we all got curious…"

"It wasn't all Hikari," Nozomi cut in. "I was the one who suggested that you might have not made the cut for the Grand Festival, and I was the one who searched your name under the competitors."

Hikari cleared her throat and continued. "Being defensive won't change what happened. We don't know what happened, but obviously it upset you and it's upsetting you to the point it seriously damaged your health." Hikari bent close to Haruka and took her by the hands. She knelt in and pressed her forehead against Haruka's, and drew away after a moment. "You're still feverish." On that last line, Hikari's voice quavered a bit. "We want to help you help yourself."

Nozomi added, "Of course we don't judge you."

"What kind of friends would we be if we did?" said Takeshi gently.

"I just met you, but from what the others say, I know already you're not a failure and that you're a stronger person than what you're giving yourself credit for," said Kengo.

"Satoshi doesn't know yet," said Hikari. "But I think he'd want an explanation. He deserves one, after how much you've worried him and the rest of us. Remember what you said to me the first day we met? _Genki dashite!"_

That should have been all of it. After all, that was what propelled Haruka to come to Sinnoh, right? Satoshi's face flashed before her, but also something else: A meandering castle with a homebound prince that had once before cut a sliver into her heart. Before her a vision played; a vision of disintegrating safety.

_Let them believe what they will,_ Haruka told herself. _Even if you told them what's really on your mind, they won't understand. They won't understand why you feel like security is slipping through your fingers and will only nod along weakly when you say that the world is not as it should be and you're afraid that it is your fault because you're too silly and stupid and preoccupied to have your thoughts clear and tell you. They don't know what it's like to feel like you're being summoned, like you're breathing without air. _Her eyes widened in shock. Could this possibly have been her beckon to Sinnoh?

The others took her silence and this gesture as her being touched. The two girls hugged her, and the boys shook her hand. They felt accomplished, proud even, and let lunch go on with a lighter mood.

_No,_ she thought as they left the room to allow her to "rest."_ How could they possibly understand?_

--

She stepped under the jets of water so hot that it fogged mirrors and labored breaths. She scrubbed herself until she was rubbed raw and clean and until her skin glowed scarlet.

In the bathroom mirror she could see her hair plastered to her face and her body emanating steam. Her eyes appeared glassy from things she wanted to but could not see.

She scrubbed harder, but in vain; it is impossible to scrub away memories and pasts that penetrate deeper than bloodstains.

Suddenly frightened beyond her wits, she quickly turned off the tap to the shower and left before all the water drained.

She remembered a line from a movie she'd once watched: "All pipes eventually lead to the ocean."

--

Exhaustion made Satoshi's eye twitch. He had never before felt so battered and drained, and yet sleep would not claim him. Strangely, his mind wasn't wandering to the incident of the previous night, but more to what happened before it.

He clutched his ribbon half to his chest. _"How could this thing compare to the real you?"_

He hadn't noticed the subtle nuances to her speech pattern like he had last night; he had been too busy being self-conscious.

"_And these dreams aren't helping at all…"_

The way her voice had quite simply fallen surely hinted at great apprehension and fear. "Damn, why didn't I notice it then…?" What kind of nightmares could she possibly be having that scared her so?

"_If only you knew,"_ she'd said. Knew what?

This reminded him that countless others (Kasumi, Hikari, Takeshi, and Haruka included) had at least on one occasion characterized him as 'slow.' For the first time, he agreed with their sentiments (albeit in a different context).There was something he had to be missing. He wished that a) girls were not this hard to figure out, and b) Defog worked with minds.

With frustration, he kicked out and made a fuss about shifting position. He was on his side now, the ribbon coyly rolling into his frontal vision. "Haruka, how am I supposed to help you if you won't tell me what this is all about?"

After rolling supine once more, he put the back of his cool hand over his forehead and eyes, which was rather soothing. He mentally pictured large waves that built extraordinary amounts of momentum before crashing, and yet seemed to lap ever-so-gently against the shore.

His final, unexplainable thought before finally drifting off: _I have to keep us both grounded._

_--_

There's something about physical and emotional exhaustion that pushes a person to his limits that draws intersecting lines between dreams and reality, and between idealization and realization.

--

_This time; a volatile memory…_

_His willpower can only take him so far. He's pushed himself to his physical limits, but knows they must expand; Pikachu, Manaphy, and Haruka are waiting for him to succeed. If he doesn't the Temple will be permanently destroyed, and they will die. His brain feels waterlogged and his ears are about to burst; if he does not hurry he will be crushed before he can plant the crystal._

_The crystal has fallen into a ravine after a final burst of determination, and with the last of his strength he pulls it out. He is robbed of his last bits of oxygen and will._

_He expects to hear her altruistic voice, more worried about his safety and his breath than she is about her life drawing to an untimely close, through a Heart Swap, which is always how the memory plays out._

_Instead…_

_**You'll die here, you know. Shame that you won't join me; shame you can't stop me.  
**_

_And ever-so-gently the waves take him up in a dance, a never ending waltz._

* * *

_To be continued…_


End file.
